Evening Star Newspaper, May 9, 1924, Page 6

) THE EVENING STAR With Sui:uhy Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY...........May 9, 1924 - THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office, 11th §t. und Penaarivanta Ave. 110 East 420d St. Chicago Office: Tower Buildin; Furopean Office: 16 RegeatSt., London, England. The Evening Star, with the Sundav morning tion, in delivered by carriers within the at G0 cents per month; daily only, 45 Sunday only, 20 cents’ per month. Orders may be Sent by mail or tele- phone Mafn 5000. ~Cotlection is made by car- tiers at the end of each month. per_month Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginis. Dally and Sunday..1 yr., §8.40; 1 mo., 70¢ Daily only. ... 15r., $6.00; 1 mo,, Sunday only 1yr, $2.40; 1 mo., 20¢ All Other States. Daily and Sunday.1 yr., §10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ Daily only . 1yr, $7.00: 1 mo., 60c Sunday only. 1yr, $3.00;1mo., 25¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled fo the use for republication of all news dis- patches credited 1o it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news pub: Lished ‘herein All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. —_— e Gas Tax Equities. The money from the gas tax, de- rived not at all from the United States v from citizens and credited | to the District, should be ex Tended on streets and avenues as part { the District's 60 per cent contribu- | n to District expenses, ac nied the 40 per cent, in cordance w ting law The 1l proposition to make of the gas tax proceeds a street-improve- ment fund contained a specific pro- vision which barred the government's per contribution under the 1922 is provision was cut out in enacting the prop w, and | fund was credited entirely to the | District without limitation. The offer of words of specific exclu- on of the United States from it al, 1l contribu unde law in this case conceded t words Were necessary 1o the of the U ted States fr th ords was by is ex The strect improvement appropria- | tions which are by the tax on the 66-40 basis, States add its 40 per cent cen law. T al into nor- the the ion »m such partict out of these | uplication a denial of | a on X¢ usion rendered unnecessary revenue are made and if the United gas does not appropriated should be expended be- low the bridge. Representatives of the Board of Trade presented the sit- uation to various members of Con- gress and the result was an amend- ment to the bill that the money might be expended on the reclamation of the Eastern Branch in the wisdom of ihe engineers. 2 Eastern Branch reclamation has been urged by the Washington Board of Trade for thirty-three years. In December, 1891, it recommended, through its committee on river and harbor improvement, reclamation of thve flats and improvement of the Arwacostia River. In 1896 that com- mitiee took the House committee on rivews and harbors and the -Senate committee on commerce on a trip to inspect conditions in the Anacostia River. The substantial start on the work of reclaiming the KEastern Branch marshes was made in the spring of 1902, when en appropria- tion of $150,000 was secured largely through efforts of Senator McMillan of Michigan. The marshes have been reclaimed from the mouth of the Ana- costia to Benning bridge and trans- formation of the reclaimed area into and the platform-makers share his knowledge. The convention does not prepare the platform; it adopts it. The real work is done for the dele- gates by the great leaders of the party in advance. So the day the con- vention adjourns and the reorganized national committee is announced the campaign for election will be on. The Democrats are not in such happy case. No man in the party can guess the prospective ticket to be nominated, and lacking even in- timation of it the party's fighting policy canmot be visualized. If Mr. Mc- Adoo is the nominee, one kind of cam- paign will be planned. If Gov. Smith is the nominee, still another. If it is to be Senator Ralstam or Senator Un- derwood, still another. If either Mr. McAdoo-or Gov. Smith is chosen, the party will be more or less on the defensive along certain peculiar lines. Realizing that, the party is casting about for a candidate who will be able to take the aggres- sive. All these elements must be taken into consideration long after the Republicans hawe speeded up in their flying start. park and playgrounds has been be- gun. It is believed that the work of reclaiming the marshes between Benning hridge and the District line will be begun under the appropriation in the bill which the House has just enacted. Bad Advice. Nicholas Murray Butler, who has figured recemtly in the news as a vigorous anti-prohibitionist, now comes forward with a declaration that if the Republican party does not in its Cleve- land platform adopt a wet plank it will lose eleven important states in the election. He enumerates them thus: Massachusptts, Connecticut. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Dela- ware, Wisconsin, Dlincis and Mis- souri. These states together have 194 electoral votes. It follows without ving that their loss would mean the loss of the election by an overwhelm- ing electoral majority. 1t is hard to see how Dr. Butler figures out this result. His prediction | is obviously based upon the belief that the country is predominantly anti-dry that it has reversed itself on the sub. ject of prohibition, and that it de-| mands repudiation and repeal of the eighteenth amendment and the en- forcement law. Where are the ewidences of such a to the District’s gas tax contribution the effect will be to relieve the gov-| ernment f tion under the | law to ®ontribute 40 per cent toward | the of street improvements, | though specific provision to this ef- | fect was pointedly amitted from the | law; or. tion will devote to the relief of Uncle | Sam from a legal obligation 40 per | vent of the gas tax fund to which he | has not contributed a cent and from which he is excused by the gas tax law from contributing. It was not the intent of the gas| tax law (at least as far as the Senate | is concerned) to enable Uncle Sam to | evade any obligation clearly imposed | upon him by the 1922 law and by cquity, and the Senate and the con- ference committee ought not to per- m its o cost mit this construction to be put upon | it, in the manner proposed by the Dis- trict appropriations bill as it passed the House. ——— Germany once had ideas of or- ganizing and exploiting the unde- veloped resources of Ru Russia | now announces that because of the .behavior of the Berlin police toward the soviet trade mission commercial ~relations will be summarily curtailed. The “Bear That Walks Like a Man” srows a littie weary of being treated like the under dog. ——— The Cleveland convention will do as President Coolidge directs, thusafford- ing decorous contrast to some of the Vroceedings in Congre e r——— Occasionally a clersyman attracts more attention by what he does not Yelieve than by his efforts to persuade others to have faith. -t Although some time has elapsed his resignation, Mr. Daugherty till investigating and being investi- wated. o Anacostia Flats Improvement. Reclamation of the marshes of the Anacostia River may be carried on Letween Benning bridge and the Dis- rict line under terms of the current sistrict appropriation bill as passed y the House. . The limitation that the appropria- tion of $150,000 for reclamation should Le expended south of or below Ben- ning bridge was stricken from the bill. KFor five vears the Washington Hoard of Trade and other public civic bodies have labored to have this restriction removed. The District appropriation act of March 2, 1911, provided for reclaim- ing the marshes of the Anacostia from the Anacestia bridge northeast to the District line and the plan of reclaiming and making a park of that section was developed by a board of -cngineers and described in a report by the board in April, 1912. The “ appropriation acts approved February 1921; June 29, 1922, and February 28, 1923, contained the provision that money appropriated for the work ould be expended below Benning bridge. In the District appropriation act of February 28, 1923, the board of engineers was directed to submit to Congress, through the chief of cngineers of the ‘Army, a report on the “desirability or undesirability of continuing the reclamation project above Benning bridge.” The report submitted at the begin- ning of the present session of Con- . gress advised that the reclamation © project be carried out between Ben- ning bridge and the District line, 'made modifications in the original _ plan in order to meet ¢ertain objec- . ‘tions that had been raised and pro- posed a plan for dismantling the dredges and putting them in place above Benning bridge to obviate the necessity of putting e draw in that ‘bridge. When the current District ** appropriation bill was reported it con- wained the proviso that the money A J from another angle, this |1 | ple. Insistence upon full enforcement remarkable change in public senti- ment? Where are the proofs of re- pudiation? It is true that the prohibi- tion law is violated, is defied by many people. But there is no indication that these violations,and this disposi- tion to nullify the amendment and the aw have the sympathy or support of the people at large. On the contrary, rere is every indication that the viola- tions and the defiance of the law are condemned by a majority of the peo- is general and emphatic. The sugges- tion that the law is laxly enforced by | the government and by the states| arouses immediate and general con- demnation. It is accepted as one of the surest | forecasts of the platforms that will be adopted at Cleveland and New York | that they will both contain strong ex- | pressions on this subject in favor of | the continuation and fullest possible enforcement of the” prohibition law. It is generally recognized that neither party can afford the great risk of of- | fending the public sentiment that is known to be dominant in this country by even a half-hearted or weak in- dorsement of prohibition. Dr. Butler is giving bad advice to his party colleagues. It will not be accepted. e ————— Dogwood. Dogwood is not on sale at Center Market. That market, under manage- ment of the Department of Agricul- ture, is co-operating in the save-the- dogwood campaign. Before the blos- soms opened a request was sent to all merchants and farmers who sell at Center Market asking that they co- operate in the campaign by not offer- ing dogwood branches for sale. The District florists are co-operating in the conservation of dogwood by nefther buying nor selling it. It is a happy spring for dogwood. In no other spring for many years has it bloomed in such security and peace. There is some pil- lage of the trees, but it would be re- markable if there were not a few un- converted vandals among us. But the sacrifice of dogwood is very much less this spring than last or the springs be- fore. A great many persons have had their flower conscience touched and have come to understand that it is bad taste to drag withered dogwood through the streets. The dogwood campaigners have the approbation of all other persons who feel an interest in trees and all the wildlings that grow in the country. ——————————— Such is the power of advertising that Teapot Dome and Muscle Shoals have come to be regarded by the great general -public es the only pieces of property worth mentioning. —————————— Being strictly in favor of prohibi- tion, Gov. Pinchot is willing to have a candid analysis of any conditions which may exist tending to obstruct its enforcement. The bobbed-hair bandit might have The Teachers’ Pay Bill. The bill providing for an increase in the pay of school teachers and officers, already passed by the House of Rep- resentatives, goes to the Senate with a favorable report from the District committee. Certain features which were stricken from the bill on its pas- sage by the House are restored. There has been no general change in the law fixing teachers’ salaries since 1906, and with the decreased purchasing power of the dollar the teachers became a very poorly paid body of people. They have shared in the annual bonus, but will be deprived of that after June 30 next, and if the pending measure does not hecome a law by that date the teachers will have a number of perplexities to face. The pending bill is fair and compre- hensive, and its drafting represented the thought and opinion of the hoard of education in conference with school offictals and committees of teachers. It was approved by every member of the House District committee with one exception, and had a relatively ecasy course on the floor of the House. In the Senate committce there was a preposal to reduce the pay scale of teachers as carried by the bill when it patsed the House, but that pro- posal was not accepted. On motion of Senator Capper the bill was amended to the effect that the maximum salary of the superintendent is that carried by the bill when it was reported to the House. The measure seems to be pass- ing along its legislative course at a fair rate of speed and with the mini- mum of Joits, and the outiook is prom- ising that it will become a law at this session B The organization of an absolutely graft-proof government is a very an- cient problem on which people will | probably be working for some time to come. Each generation finds the game a little more dangerous and embar- rassing and it will eventually be played only by the most foolhardy. It is scientifically predicted that in the next war populations instead of armies will be destroyed. No mere sensible reason could be given for not having any next war. ————————— The public is justified in baving the greatest confidence in Henry Ford. The only project he has gone into that did not prove successful was the peace ship. ———eee——— Occasionally a detective appears who bas a life work ahead of him re- discovering the clews he picked up and then lost. Mexico is still in need of a reliable peace plan for home use. * T — SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. _Gay to Grave. A joke's no joke when it comes true— In fact, it leaves you rather blue To meet what once caused gles im- mense, In actual experience. ‘The possibilities disclosed ‘When prohibition was proposed Brought gayety. And now in woe ‘We shudder at the bootleg flow. ‘We used to laugh at woman's rights To smoke and stay out late at nights. Dear father now gives out @ moan And spends his evenings all alone. We laughed at costumes rather brief, But now they cause artistic grief. We laughed at flivvers, day by day, But now we dodge them in dismay. ‘We laughed at profiteering tricks And propaganda so prolix. Now laughter seeks some theme quite new. A joke's no joke when it comes true. . Suspicious. ““That man agreed with everything you said,” remarked the secretary. “Apparently,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I'm afraid he's one of those people who would rather agree with you than be bothered trying to understand your line of reasoning.” Jud Tunkins says when he was a disguised herself more successfully if she had worn a wig. A Flying Start. = It would appear that the Repub- lians will enter the campaign for the presidential election with prac- tically a month’s advantage in time over the Democrats. The pre<con- vention campaign of the Republicans is over; their candidate is selected, all but recording the announced choice of the delegates formally in conven- tion. In the month intervening be- tween now and the holding of the convention the party managers and the titular—and actual—head of the party can devote themselves to pre- paring the platform and considering the choice for second place. In point of fact, they are doing boy he wanted to be a circus clown, and so far as earning capacity goes he still thinks he showed good judgment and wishes he'd had the nerve to back it. Conscientious Money. Said Uncle Sam, in accents cool, *“Our wealth in mighty sums is told. Let's try to have the Golden Rule Supported by the rule of gold.” Joyous Distraction, “Almost had an accident yester- da; remarked Mr. Chuggins. “How did it happen?” “I got to laughing at the witty ‘safety-first’ signs elong the road so bard that I almost lost control of the steering wheel.” ’ “De early bird ketches de worm,” said Uncle Eben, “but de wise bird is that at this time. President Coolidge |de one dat stays comfortable on de knows what the main issues upon|perch an’ has his meals brought to ‘which the fight is to be made will s Outrunning Rum-Runners The Problem of Rum Row—Difficultios in Obtaining Co-operation Ashore—The Plan of the Cosst Guard—Impor- tance of a Successfal Campaign. In Five Parts—Part V. BY BEN McKELWAY. This has to do with the problem. + Measured on a chart, it is about 200 miles from Marthas Vineyard to the entrance of New York harbor. Along this stretch of coast, with scores of easy and obscure landing places ac- cessible by fine automobile roads to the most populous section of the Uunited States, are the rum fleets. Mustering an average of fifty vessels, or one for every two miles of coast, they are divided into three groups, one off Block Island, about twenty- two miles to sea; another off Mon- tauk Point, about twelve miles from the coast, and the third off the en- trance to' New York harbor, nine to tweive miles out. They succeed in putting ashore an average of 200,000 cases of liquor every month. Their profits range from 500 to 1,000 per cent on each cargo. Early last wi ter there were about 160 vessels en- gaged in the trade. Now there are more than 250. The increase is ac- counted for in the high profits and the comparative ease in smuggling liquor ashore in violation of United States customs and prohibition laws. Smugglers Have Side Lines. The ships in the trade sail under the flags of Great Britain, Norway, France, Italy, Cuba and ymaller na- tions. They bring rum from British Guiana and liquors dnd aicohol from the majority of the western ports of Europe. The spirits from Furope are taken to the Bahamas and Bermuda, the cargoes unloaded and diluted, re- bottled ‘and bonded and brought to the United States via the ships in Rum Row and the speed boats which ply be- tween Rum Row and the coast. One ship on Rum Row had a small cargo of liquor aboard, but most of the space in her hold was occupied by cheap cutlery from Germany. Another ship is known to have been sending nar- cotics ashore with her shipments of rum. Another ship disposed of dia- monds, which, like the dope and the German hardware, are easily put ashore and sold Millions of dollar Fained in this illicit trade are swell- ing the coffers of the underworkd, customs regulations are flouted, the prohibition law joked about, the United States Navy refuses to soil its hands in the matter and the buck is passed to the United States coast guard, a “seagoing outfit” which has never failed at anything. Problem for Coast Guard. Created to guard the coast of the nation in fair weather and in foul, to succor those in distress and to enforce the nation's maritime laws, the coast guard was handed a bigger pill than it could swallow. Four cut- two of them on duty at a tim been unable adequately to pa tum Row. When they are not chasing rum-runners they must be available for the usual routine work of the service. They may be sum- off their patrol hour of the day or night to answer calls of distress. The , same situation exists along other sections of the Atlantie coast where rum-running is being practiced Unable to catch more than a small percentage of the rum-runners, the coast guard has found its task doubly hard because of lack of oo-operation ashore. This is due to three causes: First, crooked men in government service who are bought off by the bootleggers; second, lack of Interest on the part of the public and those intrusted with the duty of enforcing the laws; third, the weakness of the laws themselves and the inability to obtain quick and positive action in the courts. Crooks in Entorcement Service. Crookedness on the part of those supposed to enforce the prohibition laws ashore is largely hearsay, but there is evidence which speaks for itself. With 100,000 cases of liquor going ashore every month and find- ing their way into the bootleg trade through ports commonly known to be landing places, and with trucks which are loaded openly on the docky and driven over the main roads to the cities without interference there's bound to be something very rotten in Denmark. The lack of interest on the part of United States attorneys is another handicap which not only demoralizes the spirit’ but seriously hampers the work of the coast guard. Not long ago, a coast guard vessel brought a load of seized liquor into port. There were 500 cases of evidence, and it was duly turned over to the customs who placed it in a_ware- When the case was called in court, with coast guard officers on hand to testify, the judge asked the district attorney where the evidence was. The torney admitted he hadn’t thought of that, but assured the court it was in a warehouse. “Case dismissed,” snapped the judge, and the bootleggers went free. A boat was seized and brought into a Connecticut port the other day, and the United States commissioner was notified of its seizure. Before the hearing had been arranged a United States attorney from a neighboring city was on the long distance tele- phone, arranging with the commis- sioner for a bond. Here was the case of a man supposed to do everything he could to hold the boat and punish the men caught in it. Instead, he was using his influence o obtain the boat's release. Convictions Are Exceptional. But United States attorneys have hard sledding at that The court dockets are crowded, the wheels of justice move slowly and the boot- leggers hire skilled counsel. The coast guard endeavors to seize rum- runners under the customs laws in- stead of the prohibition laws, for the former have teeth in them. But the statutes are so involved that convic- tions are exceptional. Vessels seized under the customs laws may be bonded until their owners are con- victed Placed under bond, the rum boats set to work Immediately at their trade to make up for the money ost. The other day a coast guard vessel seized the tug Timothy of New York with 1500 cases aboard. The Timothy had been caught and re- leased on bond five times before and was under bond at the time of her last capture. The bonds are put under the head of “operating ex- penses” in the bootleggers ledger and fail to dent his total profits. In some communities juries refuse to convict bootleggers,” and before the case ever reached the jury a low- salaried United States attorney be- comes so entangled in the navigation laws and customs regulations that be throws up his hands and quits in despair. \ ‘Will the coast guard succeed under its new program? Hepe For Remedy. ‘The $13,000,000 recently provided by Congress will give the service 20 de- | stroyers, 300 smaller craft, and an in- | creased personnel of 4,000 enlisted men and 150 officers. Bids have been let for some of the smaller craft, the destroyers are being reconditioned and the coast guard is now recruiting its additional force. How much they can accomplish is a question for the futare. The plan is to make rum- runping such a difficult, hazardous and expensive operation that it will not pay, and when a thing doesn't it uswally fails. With 20 de- stroyers patrolling the fleets day and ‘night at sea, and with 300 small craft plying the waters between the row and the shore, there should be a different story to tell. But the great- est promise s in the spirit of the coast guard itself. It's a seagoing outfit which has never failed in any- thing it undertook. Appeal to Patriotism. And no matter how a man may feel toward prohibition, the new duty of the coast gmard should ap- peal to_the patriotic American oit- izen. To this gallant little service has fallen the task of enforving its country’s laws, which are flouted and laughed at by foreigners and a dan- gerous class of so-called American citizens who have combined to make huge. profits out of a nation’s con- fessed inability to do what it has set out to do. It comes to be a serious thing, something to think about. when 'a nation which sent 2,000,600 soldiers across the Atlantic Oocean to fight in Europe is unabie to clean its own coast lins of a lot of bootleggers and dirty, foreign rum ships. That is the way the coast guard feel They have been as- signed a task. It is a tradition of their service to carry out orders (The writer is indebted to Rear Ad- miral F. C. Billard, commandant of the coast guard; Lieut S. S. Yeandle, aide to the commandant; Capt W. ". B._Jacobs captzin of the port of New York and commanding the New York division; Lieut. Commander P. H. Scott, commanding the coast guard cutter Seminoleg and to Lieut. Com- mander C. H. Dench, Lieut R M. Kaufols, Lieut R B. Hall and offi- cers aboari the Seminole for their unfailing courtesy and assistance in enabling him to obtain much of the material contained in this series of articles.) Depew’s Optimism at Ninety Gives Inspiration to Many The irrepressible optimism of Chauncey M. Depew, expressed and fmplied, on the occasion of the celebration of his ninetieth birthday by his friends in the Montauk Club at Brooklyn has brought forth a vast amount of editorial comment from the press of America. The aged politician, philosopher and railroad executive is held up as a shin- ing example of the glorification of that optimism. The Nashville Banner pays the following tribute: “The years of his long life hkve given him much ess, and have been filled with rich blessings. With the lengthening shadows he is as serene as in the prime of life, when achieving so much. Fortonate, indeed, is the man who thus grows old gracefully, harbor- ing no pessimism, harboring no doubts, loving his country and his fellow men, approaching more and more closely to eternity’s open door with a smile upon his face and cheer in his heart" As for the causes and effect, the Davenport Democrat and Leader sug- gests, “Perhaps Mr. Depew's ability to enjoy a joke, even when it is on himself, heips to explain why he has lived so long.” While summing up the advan- tages of his sense of humor, the Dayton News declares, “We Americans need to study more the philosophy of humor.” This does not mean, it continues, “that we have to laugh all the time.' But,” observes the News: “It does mean, and we have Mr. Depew’s word for it, that a laugh is worth its weight in goid, for when a ml.g’or w.r:&m can h-ll‘hkuhl: refuses to be woi and worry more people than any disease that science has contrived to present to ue” £k k% Of those who have regretted the impending passing of the elder statesman, the Minneapolis Tribune quotes a statement heard at several Republican national conventions: “Well, this is probably the last na- tional convention Chauncey will see. It is about time, adds the Tribune, “to quit speculating about Chauncey’s “last convention,’" because “the vet- eran New Yorker has been confound- ing the prophets for many years, and if a bright outlook on life is condu- cive to length of years—and we all know it is—it is quite possible that he will be ‘among those present’ at the Republican convention in 1928. And “he would be ninety-four then and still a Republ;lcsl;‘auiaull laugh- ing with those who laugh.” “'Yelru have taken the hard edges from his disposition,” declares the Duluth Herald, “if, indeed, such edges ever existed, and he has a kindly feel- ing for his fellow men in all walks of life” To which the Louisville Courier-Journal adds, “With a sen: of proportion, which, after all, is e: sential to a sense of humor, Mr. yw sounds a note of confidence at D& ‘when the country needs confi- dence in its public_officials and its government” The New Haven Reg- ister regards Mr. Depew as a “hope- less optimist” and adds: “Let us thank God, for such, for we have enough, rather a preponderance, of the other sort.” In_ expressing such thankfulness the San Francisco Bulletin observes: “What a world of wearisome inter- ference we might have been spared had more of our congressmen a spark of such playful philosophy. Their blunders are due as much to a lack of the sense of humor as to that strangely irritating ignorance -of elected persons.” - “There is nothing,” declares the New York Evening World, ‘“more charming than the man who grows old gracefully and keeps step with the musio of the drums in the onward march of mankind.” And in speak- ing of Depew’'s reminiscences about the Victorian world, of which he was part, adds: “That world is so remote that there is a certain charm in the gallantry of an old gentleman who still recalls with pleasure the mem- ories of the days of make-believe. But It is a sign of age” To which the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times adds: “That a less iconoclastic age might be more enjoyable is shown in Mr. Depew’s statament that he. was far happler in reading the biogTaphies written by eighteenth century writ- ers, because in them the heroes were idealized.” * % x 3 ‘While Mr. Depew no longer marches with the procession, declares the Topeka State Journal, “he derives keen enjoyment from seeing it go by.' The Albany Knickerbocker Press de- clares “his is the vigorous old tSuch of the certainty that goes with lead- ership,” and adds: “His birthday recalls those other days when the Republican party was sending Depew and Root to national conventions; when strong men rose up and dominated in state and nation: when there was less of turmoil and cat-calling, and more of action. The old leaders have passed or are pass- ing. Mr. Depew says truly, ‘I guess there won't be any in my class at Cleveland!’ " *“Perhaps it is auto-sug- gestion,” the Meridian Star ventures, “thdt keeps Depew S0 young; we don’t know, but certain it is that, though full four. score years and ten, he has kept something alive within him that in most folks begins to gie after they have crossed the c lina of twenty-five or thirty years.” The Star continues: “The long-faced ‘wiseacres of fifty may say the world's ing to the eternal bow-wows, but ‘hauncey sees in the so-called foibles of the day merely evidence that this old sphere and all the people on it are daily growing wiser, nicer, richer and better.” ";l‘! dlnlad-uwm"lr. 'Ildg.l:l‘buul " SUEEe e Fargo une, “men and women should strive for sense of humor.™ 1 Fears Centralization. Writer Warns of Vital Need for State Rights Return. To the Bditor of The Star: The burning questions before the American public today are: Restoration to the states of their powers usurped by the federal govern- ment—or, in other words, deceatraliza- tion. Tax reduction and economy in gov- ernment administration, both state and federal. The people at large have no idea of the extamt of the concentration of juris- diction and anthority In the hands of the federal government in Washing- ton, and the danger it threatens to our institutions and liberties by being so far removed from the source of its power and impossibility of adequate control. Constitutional restraints appear to have lost their efficacy, and our entire system of government is being under- mined by amendments to the federal Constitution. For this the people are to blame, for they have manifested a fundamental perversion of civic duty in that they are willing to barter away their local rights and jeopardize their Institutions and lberties for doles from the national Treasury, and that, too, without regard to the necessity or merits of the projects for which they seek national appropriations. Another cause of centralization of power in the federal government is the decline in the prestige of the state gov- ernments, which is in turn due to their inefficiency and criminal neglect of the local duties devolving upon them, and which have been thrust upon the na- tional government by well meaning citizens, who have despaired of redress or_remedy through state agencies. The only hope for the fature, 2nd in which the public press should take the lead, is to arouse the people to a realization of the dangers to their liber- ties and to our institutions in the pres- ent situation, and to an active sense of their civic duties and obligations to both the nation and to their respective states—to make their state govern- ments, as well as the national, more honest and efficient by the election of better men to public office, and by - ing to look to the federal tovumfit as a wet nurse to gratify their every whim and succor their every desire In the realms of sociology, economics and finance. Pure and efficient government is the fruit of the intelligent and unprejudiced exercise of suffrage by all who are quali- fled therefor. The plight in which we find ourselves today is largely due to the fact that it is the least qualified who do the most voting—men being often elected to state and nati offices by lees than 20 per cent of the registered voters, and the least intelligent, or often actuated by some selfish motive. We need to return to that good old- time conception of government, which was that government owed the citi- zen certain simple. fundamental duties pertaining primarily to the protection of his life, liberty and property, while he in turn owed everything to the gov- ernment in support of its discharge of these obligations. Of the many wise things said by Jefferson, nono was more pregnant with wisdom than his state- ment ‘‘that the best government is the one that governs the least.” ALEXANDER SIDNEY LANIER. Disagrees With Core: Civil Service Commission De- clares Writer in Error. To the Editor of The Star; There has come to the commission's attention an article by Herbert Corey in the May 4 Issue of the Sunday Star under the caption, “Real Workers in the National Capital.” relating to Mr. Herbert D. Brown, chief of the Bureau of Efficiency. This article contains certain refer- ences to the Civil Servite Commission uwpon which it cannot refrain from making comment. The article says: “The Clvil Service Commission and the Bureau of Efficiency are at swords point today on the question of the final authority over the 65,000 classified government employes in the District of Columbia.” The Civil Service Commission is then quoted as saying: “The Civil Service Commission should have final authority over the employes in the departments.” The Bureau of Efficiency is quoted as saying: “The heads of departments should have authority to discharge, demote or promote; otherwise discipline in the departments will go blooie,” which, by implication, credits the commission with taking the opposite view that heads of departments should not have authority to discharge, demote or pro- mote employ The commission does not undertake to say where Mr. Corey got his in- formation as to the attitude and views of the commission, but it can say where he did not get it. He did not get it from the commission or from any one who was informed on the subject. The commission has not heretofore, and does not now, have the view that the present powers of heads of depart- ments with respect to promotions, demotions or determination of efficiency should be curtailed. The commission has heard that rumors were in eir- culation in Washington and elsewhere to the effect that the commission was endeavoring to take control of em- ployes away from department heads. The commission has no such desire or aim. Such a result could not be ac- complished without legislation, and nothing of the kind is contemplated, so far as the commission knows. Its re- lations with the departments are friondly and its duties are well de- fined. The Civil Service Commission is content to stick to its knitting. JOHN T. DOYLE, Secretary United States Civil Service Commission. Denies Russian Art Exhibit Was Failure To the Bditor of The Star: A press clipping agency of this city sent us a clipping of an article which appeared in your paper on April 7, 1924, entitled “Russian Art Exhibit Financial Fiasco.” 1 would be much obliged to you if you would correct the unconscious misstatements which appear therein. An erroneous impression of the Rus- sian art exhibition is given. The moral and financial success of the Russian art exhibition in New York was very great. Up to April 15 our exhibition was visited by 17,000 persons and the sales amounted to more than $30,000. Up to that date 68 exhibits were sold, including 39 paintings, 8 sculptures and 13 graphical works. On account of lhebllnmld s of nt'-lr exhi}?lfl?nfl:c ‘were o ed to postpone the closing date of gme until April 20, and to that date we sold altogether about 9) exhibits, realizing about $45,000. ‘With regard to the political ques- tion involved, I wish to emphasize that the Russian art exhibition had nothjng to do with any political per- sons or organizations in Russia or the United States. Its only aim was, as was plainly stated in_the official an- nouncement of the exhibition: First, to acquaint the American public with Russian cotemporary art, and, sec- ondly, to bring material help to the Russian artists. ‘We are satisfled that both of these aims have been attained. to the alleged Dmlcip&aon in our exhibition of two prominent Rus- sians, namely, Prince Youssoupoff and Count Tolstoy, I wish to call your at- tention to the fact that both of these gentlemen have denied by letters pub- lished by the New York Times on April 13 and 24 that they were con- nected in any way with the ol 128~ tion of the Russian art exhibition. RUSSIAN ARIT E)Goi’ésmon Chalrman of Artist Committ ; THE EVENING- STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ¢, FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1924 . ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN Q. How many acres of ground are there In Rock Greek Park and in the Zoo?—S. W. C. 3 A. There are approximately 1,532 scres in Rock Creek Park and 170 acres additional In the Zoo. Q. When a player goes to bat and lK.. vlv)nlked. is he counted at bat?—O. A. When a base ball player Iis walked, he is not counted at bat. Q. What is the pledge to the flag? —G. A. B. A. According to the new flag card, compiled by the national flag confer- ence held June 14, 1923, the pledge to the flag is: *“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and to the repubiic for which it stands; one natlon, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Q. Are the wireless towers at Ar- lington taller than the Washington Monument?—L. L. H. A. One is higher and two are low- er. The highest tower at Arlington 15600 feet and the other two are 450 feet. The Washington Monument is 655 feet high. Q. On the desert is the temperature much lower at night than in the day- time?—R. A, R. A. The sands of the desert grow cool if not entirely cold. In desert regions the radiation at night is usu- ally very high and, in consequence, temperatures fall during the night hours much below those of the mid- day periods. Q. How can I straighten a pitch- fork handle that was yarped?—P. A. Tt is suggested that the pitch- fork handle be boiled in water for one or two hours and then held rig- idly in position between three sup- Ports in such manner that the handle will be sprung straight, the middle support being at the point which was the center of the bend and on Wwhat was the convex side. The han- dle should remain fixed between the supports until it is dry. It may be necessary to repeat this operation in order to have the handle remain stralght when removed from the sup- ports. Q. What relation to Napoleon was the Prince Roland Bonaparte who died recently in Paris?—J. F. A. A. Prince Roland Bonaparte was the son of Pierre Bonaparte and Jus- tine Eleanore Ruffin, the daughter of a Paris working man. His grand- father was Laclen, brother of Na- poleon I, Roland, therefore, was a gTandnephew of the first Napoleon. Q. What is tueam?—M. M. A This is the local name for a Brazilian palm; the leaves of which yield a strong fiber. It if used lo- cally for cordage and exported to Germany to be made into hair for o] Q. Ts it true that la cano crater is liquid rock A. Lava is molten rock. of siliceous nature usually have a pasty or ropy conmsistency and flow sluggishly after eruption, while ba- saitic lavas are usually fluid and flow freely. The former built up voleanic_cones of steep siopes, as in central France, whereas basaltic lava forms volcanic cones of gentle slopes, like those of Etna or the Hawailan volcanoes. Some lavas decompose and disintegrate with amazing rapid- ity and form a fertile soil for the vine. Others, but slightly different in_composition, present for centuries a firm, unyielding surface to the el ments. Lavas may be either compa IN TODAY'S Congress is seriously concerned over the prolilem of so legislating as to protect American territory for as- similable immigrants in addition to native Americans. The exclusion of Japanese as well as other orientals has been debated for two decades. It is an acute question before Congress and the State Department, with the President siding with the Secretary of Stdte in urging that no exclusion law be made effective before March 18 1925, on the ground that it will require that much time to negotiate a treaty which will be satisfactory to Japan.” The conferees of the two branches of Congress have agrebd to that delay, but whether the Senate and House will recede from their demand that the exclusion be made eftective July 1, 1924, instead of March 1, 1825, is’ still under debate. The President originally asked that the date be postponed to March 1, 1925, * * % * Japan warts to negotiate a treaty; no white country has a treaty modi- fying our immigration laws. States ever singe the act of 1730 to limit the rights of citizenship to the white race, except that in 1870 the right was extended to the negroes. Last year the United States Supreme Court sustained the constitutionality of this distinction, dividing the world population into two general classes whites and colored. It has been shown by the trained scholars of anthropology that the colored peo- ples by their centuries ur traditions and jdeals have fixed characteristies which they cannot throw off and which are essentially and radically different from the ideals and traite of the white race. It is not a question as to whether one race is superior to the other: they are different and can never mix without ultimately one driving out the other in the fight for control. The United States already has one race problem, but the negroes are never the potential menace to peace and white predominance that the am- bitious, alert and aggressive Japanese (& yellow race), backed by their dual citizenship and the power of their great nation, might become if per- mitted to gain too strong a foot- hold in America, according to the presentation of the case by western congressmen. * ¥ ¥ % Today nine-tenths of the world is under white political control, though only four-tenths of the world popu- lation are white. The colored people outnumber the whites two to one. The future will add to. the numeri- cal preponderance of the colored races, for while the whites double in cighty years, the yellows double in sixty years and the blacks in forty years. c Not alone in the United States has the necessity of self-defense of the whites been recognized. Canada adopted laws exclusive against orientals. * % ¥ ¥ Has self-defense come premature- 1y? Is there no danger against which we of America need to be wary? The following imperialistic pronounce- ment, issued November, 1916, to the Japanese people, is a direct answer: “Fifty millions of our race where- with to conquer and possess the earth! It is indeed a glorious prob- lem! ® ® ® To begin with, we now have China; China is our steed! Far shall we ride upon her! “Even as Rome rode Latium to conquer Italy, and Italy to conquer the Mediterranean; even as Napoleon rode Italy and the Rhenish states to conquer Germany, and Germany to conquer Europe; even as England today rides her colonies and her so- called allies to conquer her robust rival, Germany—even so shall we ride China. So becomes our 50,000,000 race 500,000,000 strong: so ETOW our paltry hundreds of millions of gold into billions. “s’'s’ ® As for America, that fat- uous booby with much money and much sentiment, but no cohesion, no brains of government, stood she alone It has been the policy of the United | or vesicular, slaggy, scoriaceous pumiceous. Q. When 3id Egypt becoms ay i !flepan'lenl state with Fuad as king? Poa 1 became an Independent kiny dom upon the termination of the Brf ish protectorate February, 25, 15 The British government réserved its discretion four subjects: Safe; of the British Empire’s communica tions; defense of Egypt against fo;. * eign aggression, direct or indires: protection of foreign Interes:s Egypt and of minorities, and guaran. tees for British interests in the 5. dan. Fuad I was proclaimed king or March 16, 1922 Q. Who were, for the most ; owners of the land on which the of Philadelphia is built?—A. M. S A. Swedish, Dutch and glie colonists owned the land mow oco, pled by the city of Philadelphia. Q. Is there a court to which 1 write to find out how a will property?—L H. Y. A. A copy of a will which has been probated may be Secursd from the clerk of the probate court of tie county in which the will was corded. A small fee usually charged for it. Q. Why were vi s C W A. “Vik” means a fiord or inle and vikings were the “inlet from the deep inlets of the Scang navian coast. Q. Who was the first monk to te come a Pope?—s. C. A. Gregory I, a follower of Be dict, made Pope in 590, was the fi monk to hold this high position. ngs so call H_Q> Did men ever carry parascls™ G. A It is only since the eighternty century that the use of the parasol has been confined to women in Eu rope. In Asiatic countries it Is used today by members of both sexes Q. man been known to speak?—H A. Anas Montanus, editor Antwerp Polygiot Bible, who 1t in the sixteenth century, was mid to have had perfect command of 114 lan guages and dialects. Cardinal Giu- seppi Mezzofanti, who lived from 1774 to 1849, spoke sixty languages well. How many languages has oo Q. Does it take longer to digest fried fish than it does boiled fish?— G D H A. Under normal oonditions boiled fish will digest in one and one-half hours, while it takes fried fish twice as long. Q. Is it true that the walking | fern spreads by the leaves bendin over and taking root?—D. S. A. The fronds do arch over unti they touch the earth, where they roc and form new plants. Some ferns occasionally produce plants this way, but in this species it is settled habit The new plants Tow up, repeating the process of walking. and soon the original plant is sur rounded by quite u colony of its own offspring _without interventi ¢ spores. The connections Dbetwear them are slow to die, and it is not urusual to see three or four genera- tions linked together. ’ (Have you a question you wan! ot swered? Semd it to The Star Informs tion Bureau, Prederic J. Haskin, direr or, 1220 North Capitol street. The only | charge for this service is 2 cents in stamps for return postag: SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL V. COLLINS we should not need our China steed. Well did my friend speak the r day when he called her people a race of thieves with the hearts of rabbits. America to any warrior race is mot as a foe, but an im- mense melon, ripe for the “North America alone w a billion people; that bill the Japanese with their arid Asia, nor worn-o which with its peculiar relics and customs should terest of history and cul |any case preserved, nor Africa is fit for our North America, that continent ¢ culently greenm, fresh and unsuilied except for the few chattering, mon- grel Yankees, should have been ours by right of discovery; it shall be ours higher, nobler ri - Page 50, “The by Prof. Jol Steddard ‘of Harvard.) * k% * The above bombastic languase in cates the Japanese dream. The meth- od of attack is outlined to be by the sea, rather than through first con quering India and Australia. which they fear might arouse the ‘“coarse ite races.” “It must be by the sea, but the ses means the western Americas, and all the islands between, and witt e must soon come Australia, Indix. And then the battling for the balance of world power, for the rest cf North America. Once that is ours we own and control the whole dominion worthy of our race” Is there need for farther search the Alexandrian, Caesarian, Napo leonic dream of world dominion® It now hovers over the orient, nd calls the history of that great M golian conquest of Europe in twelfth century by the ‘Golden Horde" under Kublai Khan and Kp chak. What has been done may be possible again, say Californiz cor gressmen. The kaiser's boast of de scent from the Huns (Mong ) Was not vain; it spoke of th of ‘terrorizing and brutality a; sclenceless trickery, * % % ¥ In place of the Golden Ru Japanese religion studies Shinr founder of Japanese Buddhism teaches the following doctrine “If a man consecrates h life for a thank-offering for mercies, in what light are we sider the lies and sharp pract! which form an inseparable por-| that daily life? We are told in that lies and sharp practices arc in themselves thank-offering- whapnaémm :sh:mry jealous for propagation of his religion and his whole life, lies, Sharp praci - and all, to that end, seeing that become aids to the propagation of faith they become parts of an ceptable offering and s eDpADIe 3 are thu tting £uppo * % ok ok It is claimed that that throws =it upon the caytion practiced by Japa- nesé bankers in employing Chinese in- stead of Japanese as tellers in ail Japanese banks. Chinese are eswen- tially ‘honest. It is charged that Japanese never hesitate to break sny contract which does not continue to be profitable to them; they do not conceive why they should continue to carry out an unprofitable agreement just because they wrote their names on a “scrap of paper.” * k% % The Japanese in California are ten times as prolific as are the whites, as stated by L. E. Ross, registrar ot vital statistics of the California poxrd of health. He says: “In 1920 alona the Japaness increased their popula- tion by 5.4 per cent by reproduction, while the whites increased 0.5 per dent.” All such born in America are United States citizens, with the right to vote; but they are also Japanese citizeng and are usually educated and milis tarily trained in Japan, after which they return to their “native America,” with full rights to own property and participate in our government. (Copyright, 192, by Paul V. Collins.)